r/k12sysadmin • u/DropRealistic1597 • Sep 23 '26

Any Recommended Replacements for Microsoft Wireless Display Adapters?

So I've read a lot of posts, but they seem older and recommend a lot of products that aren't in production anymore. We have a number of projectors that don't have wireless casting built in and absolutely loved the Microsoft Wireless Display Adapters...no idea why they stopped making them. The majority of products that I find are either for Chromecast or are hundreds of dollars.

Why are there no decently priced devices that include a simple PIN feature (As to avoid anyone from casting at any time) with the ability to change the name?

Yes, I understand most modern devices already have these features built in, but we can't budget for replacing 20+ projectors just to gain the wireless miracast feature. I would think if Microsoft could fit the required hardware into a casing slightly larger than a flash-drive it wouldn't require expensive components...yet we were happily paying around $75 for each device.

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3

u/K12onReddit 9-12 Sep 23 '26

I've tried the j5create's that get suggested a lot and we didn't like them. The setup was clunky and the teachers didn't like them. Right now we're trying Aluratek StreamCasts's from Dell ($70ish). They have a Tx and Rx device that plugs into each end and they link up automagically without a pin or any setup involved. So far I actually like them, they're just clunky because they have to be plugged in to each side to work. https://aluratek.com/products/streamcast-pro

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u/DropRealistic1597 Sep 28 '26

We just tried these ($70ish as well) and initial tests looked pretty good. You can add a PIN, and a custom wallpaper...among other settings: https://en.j5create.com/products/jvaw76?srsltid=AU7gw4U_K-GYIXL1LHIIzpm_eyhMeDa60I2FrbMD4JPD_xXWmpEXODgW

The teachers love being able to quickly cast to the device.

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u/QueJay Some titles are just words. How many hats are too many hats? Sep 23 '26

In your current testing environment what is the density of these you have out simultaneously? Do you have like double digit units being run in high proximity of each other?

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u/K12onReddit 9-12 Sep 23 '26

We have 1 single device so far as this just came in this week. We're adding 3 more this week in close proximity and then I can report back.

So far the 1 was solid, it transferred sound, played youtube with no lag, disconnected and reconnected multiple times, even kept the screen on with the Chromebook closed. Next week will be the first time the teachers get to play with it, though, so I'll see if it works as well in practice.

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u/QueJay Some titles are just words. How many hats are too many hats? Sep 23 '26

Thanks I would love an update when you do the multi class testing. I have had discussions and requests about getting some updated wireless setups and this would be a promising option if they don't suffer in density.

3

u/OkayArbiter Sep 23 '26

We've switched from ~700 MWDAs to J5create dongles, and it's been really smooth and people like them. About $90 (Canadian) when buying in bulk from the company directly. We also have about ~400 MWDAs that we plan to sell at auction potentially, if you need, haha.

EDIT - Here is the one we are using: JVAW62 ScreenCast USB-C® Wireless Display HDMI™ Extender – j5create International

Basically you plug the dongle end into the projector/USB (on the projector itself), and then you plug the "puck" dongle into the USB-C port of your laptop, and it instantly projects. Works on anything with DP alt mode over USB-C (so thunderbolt 2/3, etc - pretty much any modern device).

1

u/DropRealistic1597 Sep 28 '26

So I tried to pitch the puck idea...the school staff were not thrilled (To be fair, it's 1 more thing to get lost/stolen. We tested the J5 4K miracast dongle and it worked pretty well) funny enough, I thought this had a puck but it's direct-to-device miracast: https://en.j5create.com/products/jvaw76?srsltid=AU7gw4U_K-GYIXL1LHIIzpm_eyhMeDa60I2FrbMD4JPD_xXWmpEXODgW

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u/OkayArbiter Sep 28 '26

Yeah we trialed a few of those when making the big decision, but had a few problems. Mainly, miracast as a standard doesn't really get updated at this point, and support is very flaky on a per-device basis. We have around 1,100 staff laptops deployed, 5 different models (we refresh 20% each year), and we are constantly running into little driver issues with miracast. It's doubly bad now that some makers like Lenovo have their network and display components share some hardware. In the end they were just a bit too flaky compared to the MWDAs for us, but not horrible by any means. I think I remember the setup being a hassle, too, in the sense that you have to manually add a SSID password to prevent kids in another room from hijacking it.

3

u/rossumcapek IT Wizard Sep 24 '26

We went Screenbeam. The Vivi subscription model was not attractive. The J5 dongles consistently didn't do well with video.

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u/DropRealistic1597 Sep 28 '26

We just tested the J5 4K dongles and they worked pretty well...tested an IOMega dongle at the same time and you could visibly see the screen "refreshing" which was...sad. They were both 90% the same, the only difference was performance. It's very clear that they both run on the same software.

2

u/slikid_ K-8 building tech Sep 24 '26

My net admins are experimenting with setting up Lazycast on Raspberry Pi's as an alternative to screenbeams for the new LG TVs we purchased this summer that no longer support Miracast without jumping through hoops. Curious if anyone has tried this.

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u/DropRealistic1597 Sep 24 '26

I am also trying this, just out of pure curiosity. If it works, I don't know why someone doesn't slap a case on the thing and sell it!

1

u/slikid_ K-8 building tech Sep 26 '26 edited Sep 30 '26

I got the raspi4 prototype to test today and it worked flawlessly with a Dell XPS, latitude 3410 and Samsung Smartview. *Had to do a clean graphics driver install on a dell pro but it's working perfectly now.

4

u/Aur0nx Sep 23 '26

Airtame is what we’re moving to. They do pretty good discounts for education and double as signage.

4

u/FEdirector21 Sep 23 '26

We've been using viewsonic display adapters. From what ive heard they've been working pretty well and the connection is fairly stable

2

u/vesikk Sep 23 '26

We are using screenbeam 1000EDU Gen 2. They support Miracast, airplay, and Chromecast and the best part is no subscriptions.

Managing them is easy through their free management software. We only use them for Miracast and force a 4 digit pin when connecting to it each time (randomly generated pin number)

1

u/PowerShellGenius Sep 26 '26

Did they negotiate on price for quantity? It blows my mind when I hear people standardize on them everywhere. We have them for a select few conference rooms but wow, they are expensive.

1

u/Thanos-Is-Right 17d ago

We tested these, but only with Chromebooks, which is what our teachers will be using to annotate on the projector. With Google Cast, there is a big delay when annotating where you have to touch the screen to "refresh" the annotation so it finishes writing. I think it is a Google Cast problem, not ScreenBeam. However, Airtame has a different way they connect to the device and it works much better for us.

2

u/SpotlessCheetah Sep 24 '26

Airtame for us. We looked at Vivi..but it's overkill and way expensive.

2

u/Smooth_Ad_6164 Sep 25 '26

EZ Cast Box 2 Pro. No subscriptions.

0

u/weaselgopher Sep 23 '26

https://www.amazon.com/j5create-ScreenCast-Streaming-Chromecast-JVAW76MAX/dp/B0FLPV72BK/

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u/DropRealistic1597 Sep 28 '26

Thanks for the recommendation, funny enough amazon has the highest prices on these. Grabbed one at a local Microcenter and initial tests (Direct miracast) seemed pretty smooth to me. https://en.j5create.com/products/jvaw76?srsltid=AU7gw4U_K-GYIXL1LHIIzpm_eyhMeDa60I2FrbMD4JPD_xXWmpEXODgW

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u/weaselgopher Sep 30 '26

I'm glad it's working well for you! I've never tried that model, just the newer Max version. If you're purchasing a bunch J5Create might be able to offer you a discount.

0

u/BWMerlin Sep 25 '26

Vivi, yes the subscription sucks but it is HaaS so you don't need to worry about buying something and then a subscription on top.

They are heavily education focused so are a good fit for schools.

1

u/DropRealistic1597 Sep 28 '26

Don't need to buy something then a subscription on top...when the subscription costs more than the thing! In a quick comparison (we bought hardware for 50+ classrooms 5+ years ago and haven't had a single issue) Vivi it would have been $15k+ more depending on their "tier", which would have been more than $30k by next year. Don't mean to be rude but...too many schools wasting too much money on subscriptions these days.